


dive slow, it's dangerous

by suheafoams



Series: dive slow universe [1]
Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Confessions, Getting Together, M/M, SHY DUMB BOYS, except no tutoring happens, tutor byeongkwan x jock sehyoon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-16 20:22:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21277154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suheafoams/pseuds/suheafoams
Summary: “Are you interested in me now, Byeongkwannie?” Sehyoon asks, licking his lips. “You’re asking an awful lot of questions and you never used to do that before~”“If you come over here,” Byeongkwan says calmly, wiping his hands with a napkin as he swallows the last bit of his chicken wrap, “I can tell you whether that’s the case.”Sensing danger, Sehyoon shakes his head. “You’re going to do something mean like punch me, so no.”“Then don’t flirt with me,” Byeongkwan says, pushing his glasses up with his thumb.Not if you don’t mean it, he thinks.





	dive slow, it's dangerous

**Author's Note:**

> wow im back with more a.c.e fic bc i didnt realize how emotionally invested i am in these bois. heres some good ole college au for yall 
> 
> if you've read my other stuff, you'll probably notice a pattern in my character dynamics. pretend u dont notice it and that im not a one trick pony. thanks : D 
> 
> play a game as u read this and try to figure out which one of them is the dangerous one. ;) 
> 
> pls enjoy ♥♥♥

Saturday morning shifts are the bane of Byeongkwan’s existence. The only reason he keeps signing up for them is because the tutoring center is lax on late arrivals and it’s an easy way to earn money with free time he’d otherwise waste in bed. Few students choose Saturday mornings to get their assignments proofread, anyways, so he’s essentially getting paid to hang out by himself and do his own thing.

When he unlocks the door, though, the lights are on and somebody’s already in the room. Wishful thinking would have Byeongkwan clean his glasses just to make sure he’s seeing correctly, but it’d be a useless gesture considering he’s well acquainted with this early bird.

“What are you doing here, knucklehead?” Byeongkwan asks.

Sehyoon grins at him, slow and lazy and so on brand for a guy who walks a thin line between being admirably confident and stupidly obnoxious at all times. “Is that any way to talk to your favorite person, Byeongkwannie?”

Byeongkwan narrows his eyes. “How many times have I told you not to call me that?” He doesn’t actually mind the nickname, but the hostility is more for setting a boundary since Sehyoon has zero concept of what it means to keep someone at a distance and is perpetually intruding on Byeongkwan’s personal space. 

“I keep hoping that maybe you’ll change your mind, since it’s a cute nickname and all,” Sehyoon explains in his sweetest voice, and Byeongkwan bids a sad farewell to what he thought would be a quiet, solitary morning. 

“How did you get in?” Byeongkwan asks, dropping his backpack in an empty chair and grabbing the laminated paper analog clock to hang on the doorknob so people know they’re open. Then he logs in to the dinosaur aged Mac computer in the corner and records his arrival in the tutoring timesheet. 

“I asked security to let me in~” Sehyoon says. He’s sprawled out on the couch, and he bats his eyelashes playfully at Byeongkwan when he realizes Byeongkwan’s sparing him a look that lasts longer than usual.

Byeongkwan can totally imagine Sehyoon acting cute to security; Sehyoon’s the type of person who’s willing to plead and whine with authority if it’ll get him what he needs. That part of him is endearing, at times, but Byeongkwan would never openly admit it even if a knife was held to his throat. 

Sehyoon’s wearing a white t-shirt two sizes too small for him, definition of his muscles distinct even through the barrier of the cotton fabric. Byeongkwan inadvertently lets his eyes follow the branching of veins in Sehyoon’s arm and drop to the curve of Sehyoon’s sturdy thighs before he belatedly realizes what he’s doing and fixes a glare on his face to cover his slip up. 

“You’re a disturbance to the tutoring center _ and _ security,” Byeongkwan says, clearing his throat. “Don’t you have anything better to do with your time?”

“You always say that, but you don’t actually mean it,” Sehyoon says with his lower lip sticking out. “Why don’t you just say you’re happy to see me?”

Crossing his arms over each other, Byeongkwan asks, “Am I?” 

“You should be,” Sehyoon says, before he points to the plastic bag on the table. “I brought you breakfast.”

All things aside, Sehyoon is… considerate. Byeongkwan almost hates that, because he’s starting to find that Sehyoon’s good traits far outweigh his bad ones, and that leaves Byeongkwan with less and less room to rebuff Sehyoon’s attempts to get attention from him. “What if I ate already?” he asks, even though he hasn’t, just so that he can watch Sehyoon panic. 

“Eat some more,” Sehyoon says, pouting when he can’t come up with any other retort, and Byeongkwan laughs as he unties the knot of the bag handles and takes out the breakfast wrap inside.

“Thank you for the food,” he says, then sees the lopsided heart drawn on the side of the wrapper in silver sharpie. “Did you do this?”

Sehyoon beams at the fact that Byeongkwan has noticed. “Yes~” he says, “Because I am embedding my _ love _ into your wrap so you can have a good day!”

That renders Byeongkwan speechless from secondhand embarrassment, so he just rips through the wrapper without saying anything, straight through the center of the sharpie heart, and takes a large bite out of the wrap as he holds back the urge to laugh at Sehyoon’s face of defeat.

He feels a little guilty, so he tries to make amends by initiating conversation, pushing his sleeves up to his elbows to make sure sauce doesn’t drip onto his hoodie. “Did you only come to school to give me food?” he asks, not thinking much of it, and Sehyoon shakes his head.

“No,” Sehyoon replies. “I have a class that got rescheduled from Thursday to today.” 

It’s rare for teachers to reschedule an entire class instead of simply cancelling, but it’s not unheard of in their school if the students are able to make time for it. “What class is that?”

“A business course elective,” Sehyoon says after a slight pause. Something in Byeongkwan’s mind finds that odd, but he doesn’t ponder over it, preoccupied with working through his breakfast wrap at a reasonable rate in case anyone comes in for help with their work. 

“I see,” he says. 

Sehyoon smooths out the wrinkles in his shirt. “Yes.” 

“Well, since you’re here,” Byeongkwan says mischievously, “Do you have any business homework you want me to look over, _ Donghun_?”

Sehyoon gapes at Byeongkwan for a few seconds before he recovers his composure and huffs at the teasing. “Very funny,” Sehyoon says, scrunching his nose. “I already said I was sorry.”

Up until two months ago, Byeongkwan had known Sehyoon as Donghun Lee, because Sehyoon had chosen to take on the identity of his friend and bring in his friend’s poorly written papers for Byeongkwan to edit. Sehyoon hadn’t done this out of some angelic kindness; the only reason he’d gone to such dramatic lengths was so that he could “spend time” with Byeongkwan, who he’d developed a strange, unconventional attachment to for reasons that are still unknown to Byeongkwan. 

In reality, Sehyoon is a great writer and just as good at studying as he is at playing soccer, although none of this has prevented Byeongkwan from concluding Sehyoon is a Big Goof and a bit of an Odd Boy. 

“And I already forgave you,” Byeongkwan says. He’s more entertained than anything, and that’s what he focuses on these days, after having decided his ambiguous attraction to Sehyoon is only a temporary glitch in his brain’s programming and he’ll soon be over it. “That doesn’t mean I’m not going to make fun of you for it as long as possible.”

“You shouldn’t make fun of someone’s wholesome affection. I don’t need help with business homework, though. Thank you very much for the offer,” Sehyoon whines, squeezing his eyes shut briefly. A man with his sort of build has no business looking that cute, but he’s defied all laws of proper conduct in Byeongkwan’s universe from the start, and that has Byeongkwan sinking his teeth into his bottom lip in annoyance. He’s not sure whether that annoyance is directed at Sehyoon or himself. 

“Okay,” Byeongkwan says. “Is your class going to affect your soccer practice?” He’s not super familiar with Sehyoon’s schedule but he’s seen team members here and there on Saturdays, training on the field or in the school gym facilities. 

It’s an offhand question that he maybe shouldn’t have asked, because now Sehyoon’s smiling at him in a way that makes Byeongkwan want to hit him. 

“Are you interested in me now, Byeongkwannie?” Sehyoon asks, licking his lips. “You’re asking an awful lot of questions and you never used to do that before~” 

And there it is, the punk who makes an appearance whenever Sehyoon gets ahead of himself and tries to use his playboy tactics on Byeongkwan. Byeongkwan isn’t opposed to Sehyoon as a person, just the fact that Sehyoon’s personality is easy going to a fault, so much so that Byeongkwan can’t tell whether he genuinely means something to Sehyoon or he’s just a momentary whim of the man’s fancy. 

Byeongkwan, on the other hand, doesn’t reveal attachment to anything or anyone until he’s serious, and prefers other people to be the same with him because it sets clear boundaries. His likes and dislikes are clearly divided, and he doesn’t ever sugarcoat his words or treat people more nicely than he’s required to. That makes it all the more frustrating to hear Sehyoon toss around meaningless declarations and smile at Byeongkwan like he would at some girl he’s trying to charm, when Byeongkwan just wants Sehyoon to get through one day without resorting to that lighthearted mask he puts on for everyone else. 

He’d seen bits and pieces of that Sehyoon early on, when he was still pretending to be Donghun. Sehyoon would watch him attentively, not saying anything, not fidgeting, just absorbed in what Byeongkwan was telling him without thinking of what to say next or how to steer the conversation. 

But that doesn’t matter. They’re not anything to each other, so Byeongkwan shouldn’t get so worked up about trying to see the “real” Sehyoon. 

“If you come over here,” Byeongkwan says calmly, wiping his hands with a napkin as he swallows the last bit of his chicken wrap, “I can tell you whether that’s the case.”

Sensing danger, Sehyoon shakes his head. “You’re going to do something mean like punch me, so no.”

“Then don’t flirt with me,” Byeongkwan says, pushing his glasses up with his thumb. _ Not if you don’t mean it, _ he thinks_. _

“You make it so hard,” Sehyoon wheedles, but quickly complies when Byeongkwan makes a move to stand up and approach him. “Okay, okay, I don’t have soccer practice today, so it’s fine.”

Byeongkwan settles back into his chair. “You could have just said that from the beginning.”

“That wouldn’t have been any fun,” Sehyoon says, and points finger guns at Byeongkwan. “After all, you’re really cute when you’re annoyed.” 

“Come _ here_,” Byeongkwan says, irritation flaring right back up because Sehyoon never _ learns_, and Sehyoon lets out a nervous giggle as he gets off of the couch.

“Wow, I guess it’s time for me to head on to class, Byeongkwannie,” Sehyoon says. Approaching the table like Byeongkwan’s a wild animal, he swiftly grabs his keys off the table and smartly avoids hitting range of Byeongkwan. The charms and keychains and keys on his lanyard bump against each other in lawless cacophony, complementary to their owner’s style. “It was very nice talking to you. Have a peaceful shift.”

“Have a good class,” Byeongkwan says begrudgingly.

Sehyoon beams at him, smile genuine as he gives Byeongkwan a small wave goodbye. “I will~”

❆❆❆

Over the course of Byeongkwan’s five hour shift, a mere four students come in for help with writing. Three of them are international students who come on the recommendation of their teachers to improve their assignment quality, and the last one is a guy who wants to get his resume looked over in preparation for an internship application.

Time passes slower when he doesn’t have senseless noise and mischief happening in the background, but he quickly reminds himself that he wouldn’t be able to get any of his own work done if Sehyoon is around. 2 PM takes its sweet time rolling around the corner, but it eventually does arrive, and Byeongkwan just so happens to run into Donghun in the hallway after he’s finished locking up the room fifteen minutes after closing. 

He instinctively asks, “You’re still here, Donghun?” 

“Still here?” Donghun tilts his head to the side. “What do you mean? I’m just dropping by to pick up some stuff I forgot in my locker.” Byeongkwan doesn’t have to try very hard to imagine the floppy dog ears raised in confusion on top of Donghun’s head. It must be a common trait among Sehyoon’s friends, to be puppies in every sense except their physical form. 

“Are you in the same business class as Sehyoon?” Byeongkwan asks.

“Yes, with Schmidt,” Donghun replies. “Why, has he been bringing my work to the tutoring center again?”

“No…” Byeongkwan says. Something’s not adding up. “I think he said he had a lecture rescheduled for today?”

“Really?” Donghun says. The imaginary question marks above his head seem to double. “I didn’t know that, but I don’t always know his full schedule. It definitely wasn’t our business class because Schmidt almost never reschedules lectures, just cancels them.”

“Ah, okay,” Byeongkwan says, nodding.

In other words, Sehyoon was lying. He had only come to school to drop off breakfast for Byeongkwan and covered it up with an excuse to make it seem like he had been passing by in convenience, without anticipating Byeongkwan running into anyone else they knew. 

The significance of that has Byeongkwan’s black heart melting just a bit, and he turns back to Donghun.

“Do you have his phone number?” he asks.

“Yeah, do you need it?” Donghun pulls out his phone to search through his contacts, before holding out his screen for Byeongkwan to see. “I’m surprised you guys don’t already have each other’s phone numbers from how much Sehyoon blabbers about you.”

Byeongkwan looks up at Donghun in surprise. “Does he talk about me a lot?”

“Yeah,” Donghun says. “I don’t think he does it on purpose, but he’s pretty unreserved about the people or things he likes, especially because he’s been trying to get your attention for a long time.” 

“Oh,” Byeongkwan says. 

“Maybe I wasn’t supposed to say that,” Donghun says, covering his mouth, then shrugs. “Oops~” 

The dots are starting to connect, and Byeongkwan…

Well, he’ll process all of this information later. His hands tremble slightly as he inputs the number on Donghun’s screen into an entry for a new contact on his own phone. “Thank you,” he says when he’s done, and Donghun smiles at him.

“No problem,” Donghun says, and he slips his phone back into his pocket.

Byeongkwan cracks his knuckles as he hesitates asking about what’s been nagging him at the back of his mind. “I don’t know if this is a weird thing to ask, but…”

“I’m all ears,” Donghun says.

“How does Sehyoon usually act around people?”

“Like, his personality?” Donghun purses his lips in thought. “Well, he’s friendly. He’s one of those people everyone likes, but he doesn’t go out of his way to be super close with anyone unless it’s within our friend group. Is that what you’re asking about?”

There’s a knot growing at the bottom of Byeongkwan’s stomach. “So he doesn’t like…joke flirt?”

Donghun rolls his lips inward, like he’s trying to prevent the amusement from showing in his face. It doesn’t work, because Byeongkwan can see the smile fighting to break free in the line of his mouth clear as day. “Not that I’m aware of, no.”

“Okay,” Byeongkwan says. “Thanks.” Then he adds, “Pretend I didn’t just ask that.”

“Sure,” Donghun says, like the angel he is, despite having probably put two and two together by now and realizing that both Sehyoon and Byeongkwan are idiots. He points in the direction he was walking towards before he stopped to greet Byeongkwan, and says, “Well, I’ll see you around, yeah? I hope you can get in touch with Sehyoon!” 

“Me too,” Byeongkwan says, even as his insides turn to jelly mush and he realizes with an appalling amount of certainty that the ambiguous attraction to Sehyoon isn’t a glitch, after all. 

❆❆❆

Byeongkwan doesn’t remember much of the drive home, his head a mess of thoughts as he deliberates over what to do.

He’d never considered the possibility that Sehyoon was serious about him, but it’s not like anyone can blame him. Sehyoon is a star player on the university’s soccer team, adorably boyish in the face and dangerously alluring in the body. As much as Byeongkwan was put off by Sehyoon’s antics and wishy washy flirting, there’s good reason for half the school to be in love with Sehyoon; he’s a good person at heart and humble about his achievements even if he sometimes pretends to be smug for shits and giggles. 

In contrast, Byeongkwan’s icier exterior has never made him super approachable and he doesn’t prioritize being likeable enough to change that part of his personality, although it does surprise him at times just how intimidated his peers are by him. His closest friends have lamented over the colossal gap between their first impressions of him and their current understanding of him now, even going as far to compare him to a pineapple. (“Prickly on the outside, sweet and delicious on the inside!” Junhee had said once, proud to display what he thought was literary genius material, and Byeongkwan had only covered his face with his hands to stifle a body-shaking laugh.) 

So it makes total sense that when Sehyoon came in like an oversized puppy, knocking all sense and order in Byeongkwan’s life to pieces just to hold a few seconds of his attention, Byeongkwan had attributed the excessive energy and words of flattery to Sehyoon’s general attitude without including himself as a significant part of the equation.

Byeongkwan doesn’t fit the template for what a guy like Sehyoon is supposed to be attracted to, so why would he get his hopes up by thinking he was special or something equally silly? It’s safer to underestimate how much people care about him as a means of making sure he doesn’t get hurt or appear vulnerable, but this is the first time it’s come back to bite him. Sehyoon has repeatedly gone out of his way to spend time with Byeongkwan and show him kindness, and yet, Byeongkwan’s trivialized Sehyoon’s earnest feelings based on assumptions he never bothered to clear up.

He sifts through the top drawer of his desk and pulls out the stack of sticky notes he’s accumulated from Sehyoon visiting the tutoring center throughout the last six months. If Byeongkwan was busy helping someone else, Sehyoon would just sit quietly at another table and go through post it after post it drawing out stories and comics for Byeongkwan to see later. If Byeongkwan _ wasn’t _busy, Sehyoon would sit at the same table and draw chicken scratch portraits of Byeongkwan, each growing increasingly ridiculous until Byeongkwan threatened to hit him.

Sometimes Sehyoon wouldn’t have time to hang out, and he would occasionally drop by with a hot drink for Byeongkwan or some sort of fruit candy from whatever bag he was working through that week. Even then, he’d draw pictures anywhere he could, such as little happy faces on cup sleeves or candy wrappers. 

Byeongkwan unsticks and arranges some of the notes so that no stray corners are sticking out before putting the multicolored stack back into the drawer.

Deep, deep down, in the part of Byeongkwan that doesn't care about pride or appearances or making sure his walls are high enough, he’s totally weak for Sehyoon, even if Sehyoon does the weirdest shit to get his attention or flutters his eyelashes every time he finds Byeongkwan staring at him out of something other than disdain. 

Decision made, he chews at his lower lip as he hits _ call _ on his newest contact in his phone. 

Sehyoon picks up at the second ring, which catches Byeongkwan off guard from how soon he’s hearing Sehyoon’s voice. “Hello?”

Byeongkwan clears his throat before he says only, “Sehyoon.”

“Who…Byeongkwannie? Is that you?” It’s so obvious now, the way his mood and tone of voice powers up instantly as soon as he realizes who he’s talking to. That does make things a little easier, because Byeongkwan is not accustomed to confrontation centering around _ emotions _, and Sehyoon’s enthusiasm at simply hearing Byeongkwan’s voice is reassuring above all else. 

“Yes,” Byeongkwan says.

“I’m very happy to be getting a call from you, Byeongkwannie, but how did you get my number?”

“I got it from Donghun,” Byeongkwan says, and doesn’t explain further. “Are you busy right now?”

“Nah,” Sehyoon says. Byeongkwan hears a cup being placed down in the background. “I could be doing homework, but I’m not, so.”

“Can I come see you?”

There’s a beat of silence, before Sehyoon laughs unsurely. “Wow, Byeongkwan, that’s forward of you,” Sehyoon says, and Byeongkwan can imagine how confusing a call out of the blue like this is for Sehyoon, who’s always the one chasing, never the one being chased. “Is there something wrong?”

“Nothing is _ wrong_, exactly, but I want to talk to you,” Byeongkwan says. “I’ll treat you to food.” 

“Okay,” Sehyoon says, voice suddenly small. “…Is what you want to talk about bad?”

He sounds like a little kid asking if he’s in trouble, and Byeongkwan feels a bit guilty for not explaining even though he’s going to very soon. “Nothing bad, I promise.”

“Okay,” Sehyoon says. 

After a bit of discussion, they decide to meet at Sehyoon’s apartment, and Byeongkwan arrives half an hour later with snacks in hand. Sehyoon lives in a giant apartment complex, one of those buildings where there’s twenty locked gates and doors to pass through, and he has to come out to lead Byeongkwan back to his actual unit, navigating through the hotel-like hallways with ease until they finally reach his place.

The inside of Sehyoon’s apartment is cleaner than Byeongkwan had expected, shoes and other accessories arranged neatly in the entryway, not a speck of dust or dirt in sight. Sehyoon takes the bag of food from Byeongkwan to set on the dining table, while Byeongkwan takes off his sneakers and moves them into place so they’re not messing up the orderly line of shoes on the floor. 

“Is there chicken in here?” Sehyoon asks, before the containers have even been opened. 

“Yeah,” Byeongkwan says, laughing. Sehyoon’s totally a dog. An oversized, soft, fluffy one with an extremely keen sense of smell. “Plus mini corn dogs and egg waffles.” 

“You sure know the way to a man’s heart,” Sehyoon says, practically vibrating with excitement at the snacks, and once they both sit down, Byeongkwan absentmindedly watches as Sehyoon makes a beeline for the chicken before he even touches any of the other options.

While Sehyoon munches away, Byeongkwan looks around the interior of the apartment, noting the large, clear doors to the balcony and the sunlight that filters in through the curtains. It’s small in square footage, but the quality is there, as expected of a corporate owned apartment complex. There are no sounds coming from other rooms to indicate there’s anyone else here except them, but it’s possible that Sehyoon’s roommates are just quiet.

“Do you have roommates?”

“Yes, one,” Sehyoon says. “Contrary to what you might think, the million pairs of shoes are all Matthew, and only, like, three of them are mine. He won’t be home until later in the evening, though.”

“I see,” Byeongkwan says, then redirects his attention to Sehyoon eating. “Is the chicken good?” 

“Yes~” Sehyoon says cheerfully, and he holds out a mini corndog in front of Byeongkwan’s mouth until Byeongkwan accepts and bites into it. “Where did you get the food from?”

“A new tea shop near my place,” Byeongkwan replies. 

“Ahh, okay,” Sehyoon says. “What did you want to talk to me about?” 

Byeongkwan speaks only after he’s finished chewing and swallowing the corndog. “I ran into Donghun earlier after my shift ended.”

“Did you?” Sehyoon asks. “I guess that’s how you got my number, huh?” 

“Yes,” Byeongkwan says. He considers the best way to word this. “I mentioned that you had a rescheduled lecture because I thought he had gone to it, and he told me it definitely wasn’t the business class you take together.” 

Sehyoon freezes mid-bite and looks at Byeongkwan, comically caught between wanting to continue eating and being called out on his lie. He decides to eat everything left on his skewer stick before finally uttering a meek, “Oh.”

“You lied, didn’t you? Why didn’t you tell me you came all the way to school just to give me breakfast?” Byeongkwan asks, and Sehyoon scratches at the side of his neck sheepishly. His ears are flushed a traitorous red, a sharp contrast with the rest of his pale olive skin.

“I don’t know.” Sehyoon shrugs, fiddling with the skewer stick. Byeongkwan realizes that Sehyoon’s defaulted to a more natural version of his voice, which is quiet and soft and much more reserved than the one he uses at school. “It’s kinda weird to show up and tell someone ‘I made a trip to school specifically just so that I can give you breakfast.’”

Compared to the long list of odd methods Sehyoon has resorted to in order to get Byeongkwan’s attention, this is the _ most _ normal, and Byeongkwan points this out immediately. “But it’s not weird to ‘embed love’ into a breakfast wrap to make sure the person has a good day, or outright flirt with them?”

“Listen, I didn’t say anything about my logic being _ sound, _okay?” Sehyoon says, and Byeongkwan laughs. 

“Either way, bringing me food was nice, but the fact that you specifically came to school to drop it off is…” Byeongkwan trails off. “Well, I hardly ever eat in the morning and I hate school food, so I appreciated the gesture, Sehyoon.”

Sehyoon looks up in surprise, like he’d expected Byeongkwan to make fun of him or something, let alone _ thank _ him. 

It’s crazy how a simple shift in perspective has Byeongkwan feeling completely differently about Sehyoon. The guy he’d assumed was just killing time by hanging around him, was actually a boy who was too timid to admit his earnest feelings outright and subsequently disguised that hesitation with a carefree, flirtatious attitude. 

“So you don’t find it annoying or weird that I did that?” Sehyoon asks, as he cleans any residual grease off his hands with a dampened wipe. 

“No, of course not,” Byeongkwan says. He’s cold, he knows that, but he’s not heartless. “Why would I?”

“Because you’re always mad when I try to flirt with you,” Sehyoon says. He plays absentmindedly with the piercings on his ear. “And you don’t like it when I try to do things for you, sometimes.”

“It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just…” Byeongkwan bites on his lip. “Well, to be honest, I thought you were a player so—”

“A _ player_?” Sehyoon interrupts, then pouts. “Byeongkwannie, I play soccer, not with your heart!”

The outburst is so cute that Byeongkwan’s mind blanks, train of thought falling off the rails entirely. “Sehyoon, don’t say stuff like that. It’s cheesy.”

“It’s not cheesy if I mean it from my heart!” Sehyoon says. “Why did you think I was a player?”

“Well, you look like… that, so wouldn’t it make sense?” Byeongkwan says, loosely gesturing in Sehyoon’s general direction, and Sehyoon gives him a bewildered look.

“What does that even mean?” 

“You’re _ handsome_, okay,” Byeongkwan hisses, expecting Sehyoon to gloat over Byeongkwan giving him a compliment, but all Sehyoon does is cover his face with his hands. 

Taken aback, Byeongkwan blinks. “Are you... embarrassed?” he asks. “If you act like that, I’m going to get embarrassed, too.” 

“Shut up,” Sehyoon says, taking a brief peek at Byeongkwan from between his fingers. “I wasn’t prepared for you to say something nice to me.” 

“You make it sound like I hate your guts,” Byeongkwan says. 

“That’s how it felt sometimes,” Sehyoon says, uncovering his face. 

“Well, I’m really sorry about that,” Byeongkwan says. “I realize now that I severely misunderstood you as a person, and I feel differently now.” 

Sehyoon’s eyes grow large and glassy. “You do?”

“Yeah,” Byeongkwan says, and god, he can see the imaginary tail start to wag. “I guess I just wanted to make sure I’m not misunderstanding you yet again, or that I’ve read too much into signs that didn’t mean anything.”

Sehyoon just watches him, waiting for Byeongkwan to continue, and Byeongkwan inhales quietly before finally asking, “Sehyoon, are you romantically interested in me?”

“Yes,” Sehyoon says almost immediately, looking so small in the insecure hunch of his shoulders that Byeongkwan wants to hug him. “If you don’t like that, then I can just—” 

“I keep all of your sticky note drawings in my desk at home,” Byeongkwan says, and Sehyoon does a double take at him. 

“You do?” 

“Yes,” Byeongkwan says, wondering if his body is deteriorating, because just looking at Sehyoon makes his heart feel disgusting mushy things and he hates it. But he doesn’t like Sehyoon looking defeated and unwanted, so he’ll have to force a few more truths out before he locks them up again. “I’m probably not going to say this a lot, Sehyoon, but I am… weak to boys who resemble dumb, oversized puppies, so consider yourself lucky.” 

“Weak to…” Sehyoon repeats, confused, before he realizes Byeongkwan is purposely not looking at him. “Byeongkwannie?” 

“What.” 

Sehyoon grabs Byeongkwan’s hands and links their fingers together. His nail polish was probably applied a few days ago, the red and yellow and blue starting to chip away and expose bare nail tips. “Am I a dumb, oversized puppy?” Sehyoon asks, with a small, hopeful smile. 

“Yes,” Byeongkwan says in exasperation. Sehyoon’s hands are so very warm and Byeongkwan’s high fortress walls are melting into puddles of nothingness. “Do I have to spell it out for you?” 

“_Yes, _” Sehyoon says, putting on his cutest persuasive face for Byeongkwan. “Please do. I’m dumb, as you’ve noticed.” 

Byeongkwan rolls his eyes. “I don’t mind you liking me, because I like you just as much,” he says. “Do you get it now?” 

“Yes,” Sehyoon says, with the most self-satisfied grin Byeongkwan’s ever seen on him. 

“Gross,” Byeongkwan says, and tries to pull his hands away, but Sehyoon’s death grip prevents him from doing so. Sehyoon presses his cheek on top of their intertwined fingers, nuzzling Byeongkwan’s hands like they’re precious. 

“You should think carefully about this,” Byeongkwan says. What he lacks in warmth on the exterior of his personality, he compensates tenfold emotionally, and Sehyoon won’t be able to get away from him once Byeongkwan really tightens his grip on him. “If I decide I want to keep someone or something, I bite and I don’t let go.” 

“Sounds good,” Sehyoon says, like what Byeongkwan’s saying isn’t even a bit terrifying. “Sink your teeth in me all you want, Byeongkwannie.”

The easy acceptance evokes unnecessary images in Byeongkwan’s mind, and he groans. 

“Why? Did I say something wrong?” Sehyoon asks, lifting his face to wink at Byeongkwan. He looks more confident now, and Byeongkwan's starting to realize he likes Sehyoon better that way. 

“You idiot,” Byeongkwan says, and he just laughs at the madness of the events that led their relationship here as he kisses the crown of Sehyoon’s head.

**Author's Note:**

> representative song for this fic is LEFT BOY's dangerous (which is on youtube but not itunes or spotify bc he used samples from big data's music i think) 
> 
> college aus are my favorite thing to write cause Young Dumb Bois in love is the best trope ever. 
> 
> (but also did u figure out which one of them is the real dangerous one? stay TUNED TO FIND OUT IN FUTURE INSTALLATIONS OF THIS SERIES) 
> 
> **if u liked this please consider leaving a comment!! tiny comment!! large comment! ! ALL TYPES OF COMMENTS! for author's emotional well being and health**
> 
> thanks for reading!!! if you'd like to chat, you can find me on twitter @ suheafoams.


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